Richmond Community Schools is closer to starting several school improvement projects.
At its June 19 meeting, RCS conducted a public hearing and entered into a lease agreement between RCS and its nonprofit Richmond Multi-School Building Corp. to fund a $3 million renovation at Dennis Middle School.
Chief Operations Officer Karen Scalf said the funds will be used for remaining heating, ventilation and cooling needs, such as dehumidification, some univent work, ducting and controls.
RCS Attorney Ron Cross said the lease agreements are allowed by state law regarding the amount of debt that can be incurred. He said RCS has used them several times. The first use of those agreements was for building Tiernan Center in the 1980s.
Following up on earlier discussions, the board also approved the $19,050,000 construction fund for 2024-2025 renovations and improvements to safety, security, energy efficiency and athletic facilities.
It also signed a contract with Whisenhunt Construction for Fairview Elementary’s structural repairs. The $449,130 will be paid from the 2024 bond issuance.
A version of this article appeared in the July 3 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.